The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a cryptocurrency fund and is accepting donations in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

As per an announcement, the initiative intends to fund open source technology that will benefit children and young people worldwide.

UNICEF said it will receive, hold and distribute donations of BTC and ETH through the fund.

“If digital economies and currencies have the potential to shape the lives of coming generations, it is important that we explore the opportunities they offer,” UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore said.

The organization said it received its first contributions from the Ethereum Foundation, and they will be added to the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund. The three grantees of the UNICEF Innovation Fund are Prescrypto, Atix Labs, and Utopixar, which “work in the areas of prescription tracking, matching investors and those needing funding, and community tokens and engagement.”

Although UNICEF did not disclose the grants’ amount, Ethereum Foundation’s executive director Aya Miyaguchi revealed the firm donated 100 ether, worth around $18,000 at its current price.

“Together with UNICEF, we’re taking action with the Crypto Fund to improve access to basic needs, rights, and resources,” she said.

Last year, the UNICEF Innovation Fund poured in $100,000 in six companies to support the development of blockchain solutions that will address key challenges in areas ranging from healthcare, misappropriation of funds in emerging markets, access to funding for SMEs, connectivity within the refugee and migrant communities and much more.

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